School desk and seat.



H. J. MERLE; scHooL DESK AND SEAL'.

- APPLICATION HLED MARl l5. i915. 1,261,049.,

Pagen@ Apr. 2, 1918.

2 lSHEETS-SHEET l.

H. J. MERLE. scHooL DESK AND SEAT.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

AEN@ FFQE.

HENRY J'. MERLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 2, 1918.

Application tiled March 15, 1915. Serial No. 14,298.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY J. MERLE, a citizen' of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in School Desks and Seats, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates in general to school furniture and has more particular reference to the desks and seats, and more especially to the supporting means therefor.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a supporting standard for a school desk which will be strong and durable in construction, neat and attractive in appearance, and which, by reason of the elimination of all corners and sharp projections wll preclude an accumulation of dust, dirt, germs, etc., so that the desk will be thoroughly hygienic.

Another object of the invention is to provide a desk which can be vertically adjusted to any desired height, and one in which the standards do not extend into the book box, and which is constructed to limit the raising movement of the desk so that it is impossible to accidentally separate the adjustable parts by raising the desk top too high.

A further object is to provide simple and highly ethcient means for securing the desk in any vdesired vertically adjusted position,

which is entirely inclosed within the structure of the standards where it can not b e manipulated or tampered with by the pupils. 'Still another object is to provide a desk standard which shall be entirely of tubular construction, thereby affording the greatest strength with a minimum amount of material and also effectually sealing the standard against the entrance of dust, dirt and moisture, such as would attack the metal of the standard and also make it unsanitary.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with thel accompanying drawings. Referring to the drawings- Figure l is a perspective view of a school desk and seat embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through one of the standards;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the of Cook and State line H of Fig. 2, the parts being shown in loosened position to permit adjustment of the desk;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the standard is locked in adjusted position;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the seat standard taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 7

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the structure and manner of attachment of one of the standard feet.

The desk top, designated generally by reference character 9 in Fig. 1, comprises the book box 1l and the top proper or working surface 12. In many adjustable desks elnployed prior to my present invention the standards projected upwardly into the book boX varying distances, depending upon the height to which the top was adjusted. In my present invention I have eliminated this objectionable feature by attaching the standards to the bottom 13 of the book box from yqvhich they. extend downwardly, as shown in plate 14 screwed to the bottom of the box has rigidly attached thereto a pair of tubular members 15 and 16, respectively, which extend downwardly in parallel relation a considerable distance below the box. Intermediate-their ends the tubes are braced and held in spaced relation by a tubular cross-piece 17 equipped at its ends with blocks 18 and 19 shaped to conform to the opposed faces of the tubes 15 and 16.

These tubes 15 and 16 form the upper portion of the adjustable standards, the lower portions of which consist of a pair of tubes 21 and 22 proportioned to telescope within the tubes l5 and 16, the tubes 21 and 22 being rigidly connected together' by a tubular cross member 23. The lower ends of the tubes which are bent outwardly in opposite directions, as shown in Fig. 1, are equipped at their lower ends with iron feet or bases 24. These feet, as shown in Fig. 8, are

j shaped to lit within the standards so that to outside appearances they form a continuation of the standards and are apparently integral therewith, thus presenting a neat and attractive appearance to the lower end of the standard. rIhe feet are preferably acetylene-welded to the standard so as to be permanently and rigidly associated therethe blocks 29 and with and are shaped to present an extended bearing 'surface to the floor, and are provided with screw holes by means oi' which the standards may be screwed to the licor. lThese feet or bases are made oi' iron which does not rust and corrode as readily as steel, and they therefore provide not only a strong and durable base Jfor the standards but also hermetically seal the lower ends of the tubes to prevent moisture l'roni ilushing up into the hollow tubing, thereby prolonging the life of the tubes and ing them entirely sanitary.

.F or the purpose of locking the telescoping tubes in any desired vertically adjusted position l have provided a simple and eilicient locking mechanism which will now be described. rlhe outer tubes l5 and 1b' are provided in their inner walls with apertures 25 and 26, respectively, disposed in axial alinement with the blocks 13 and 19 and are provided in their outer walls with vertically elongated openings 27 and 23 through which the shanks of the blocks 29 and 3l extend. rEhe tubes 21 and 22 are provided with alined longitudinally extending slots 32 of sulicient width to accommodate the Shanks ot the blocks 29 and 31. Within the tubes 2l and 22 are disposed blocks 33 and 34 which are carried by a bolt 35 passing transversely through the standard, as shown in Figs. 2, Ll and 5. The 'block 29 is carried by the head end of the bolt with its shank 'projecting through the elongated opening 27 of the outer tube and the slot 32 or the inner tube, the inner end of the shank 29 abutting against the block 33. rl`he shank o' block 31 projects inwardly through the opening` 23 and the corresponding slot 32 into engagement with the inner block 3d. A nut 36 shaped to e engaged by a specially formed wrench is threaded upon the end of the bolt 35 outside the block 3l. When the nut is loosened the parts assume substan tially he positions shown in Fig. d and the desk top may be raised or lowered to the desired height. When the required height or approximately this height has been determined the nuts 3G may be tightened slightly with the iingers suiiiciently to hold the desk temporarily in position while permitting further vertical adjustment ii necessary. rEhereaiter the nuts may be tightened up with the wrench until the standard is iirmly locked in the adjusted position. The tightening of the nuts draws the shanks 0i' 31 against the inner blocks and 3a thereby causing the inner side of the inner tubes to be clamped between the outer tubes and the respective inner blocks, as shown in Fig. 5. It will be manifest that the clamping mechanism effectively holds the standard in adjusted position and that the working parts are entirely inclosed in the standard construction where they canat the same time rendernot be manipulated or tampered with by the pupils. Since the nuts 36 are practi cally round and can only be operated by a specially shaped wrench which is kept in the custody ot some one in authority, the desks, when once adjusted for any particular pupil, cannot be manipulated or further adjusted except by the person having possession ol the wrench. j

lt will also be manifest that the upper ends of the slots 32 in the inner tubes limit the upward movement of the desk top so that any liability or lifting the top on of the standards is precluded. The standards as described are strong and durable, neat in appearance, light in weight andare entirely closed so that dust, dirt or moisture cannot accumulate on the inside or them, and are also smooth on the outside, presenting no cornersor crevices :tor the accumulation oitdust or dirt, thus rendering the desk very sanitary for school purposes.

rllho desk is shown in elevated position in liig. 1 in dotted lines asis also the seat 37 `which is mounted for vertical adjustment upon a standard similar in general structure to the desk standards, and which will now be described. Referring more particularly to Figs. 6 and 7 it will be observed that the seat proper is mounted upon the upper end of a tubular member 33 adapted to telescope within a lower tubular member 39 xedly mounted in an iron base el. rlhe member is slotted longitudinally to permit vertical adjustment thereof, and a bolt d2 carries an exterior block d3, a wedgeblock dei and a two-piece expansion ring d5. A nut l@ is threaded upon the end of the bolt and when this nut is tightened up `the wedgeshaped shank of the block de, lextending through an aperture i7 in the member 39 andthrough one of the longitudinal slots in the member 33, enters between the opposed ends of the expansion ring i5 and expands the ring thereby pressing outwardly on the tube 33 so that the two tubes are rmly clamped together against relative vertical movement. lt will be observed that one member of the expansion ring is provided with a transverse groove d3 which insures at least three bearing points iior the ring when expanded; namely, at the points 49,

51 and 52, thereby preventing rocking oit the tube 33 within the tube 39 suoli as might occur if only two bearing points were atilorded. For the purpose of covering the slots in the member 33 to prevent the entrance of dust and dirt into the standard l have mounted a tubular sleeve 53 loosely within the member 33 so that it will slide up and down relatively to the tube 33 and cover the slots irrespective oi the vertical positionoitheseat. The seat may be adjusted by simply looseningthe nut 46 in the same manner that the deskv is adjusted `ard consisting of a when the nuts 36 are-loosened, and it will be obvious that the seat and adjusted independently of each other to accommodate theni to the size ot the pupil,

and to position the desk at the proper height with respect to the seat.

My invention and its inode of operation should be fully understood troni the foregoing Without further description and While l have shown and described a preferred ernbodinient of the invention it should be manifest that various modifications in the structural details shown and described niay be resorted te Without departing from the essence of the invention as defined in the following claims.

l claim:

l. A school desir,.coinprisino1 a top and a standard for each end thereo each standard Consisting of a pair of rigidly connected tubes forming the bottom ard, a second pair oitubes connected to the desk top and telescopically engaging said rigidly connected pair, a bolt extending transverselythrough all of said tubes, and ineans operated by said bolt for clamping said tubes together in adjusted position.

2. A school desk, comprising a top and a standard for each end thereof, each standpair of rigidly connected tubes forming the bottom of the standard, a second pair of tubes connected to the Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each,

desk may be devices carried by said bolt of the standdesk top and telescopically engaging said rigidly connected pair, a bolt extending transversely through all of said tubes, and means operated by said bolt for clamping said tubes together in adjusted position, said ineans comprising a rigid ineinber disposed between and engaging the outer tubes, blocks arranged Within said inner tubes and for forcing said blocks toward said ineinber.

3. A school desk, con'iprising a top and a standard 'for each end thereof, each standard consisting of a pair of rigidly connected tubes forming the bottoni of the standard, a second pair of tubes connected to the desk top and telescopically engaging said rigidly connected pair, a bolt extending transversely through all of said tubes, ated by said bolt for clamping said tubes together in adjusted position, said ineans comprising a rigid ineinber disposed between and engaging the outer tubes, blocks arranged Within said inner tubes, and devices carried by said bolt and projecting through the Walls of said tubes into engagement With said blocks for forcing the blocks toward said member.

HENRY J. MERLE.

Witnesses T. FRANK BANTA, HERMAN G. EINKE.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Y 'Washingtom D, C.

and means opery n OD 

